Gretchen, a.k.a. Rapunzel
by Jenny the chica
Summary: ***FINISHED*** A retelling of the fairy tale of Rapunzel. My first story AND fic, the one that started it all(read my profile to get the full story).
1. In which Gretchen leaves home...

Authoress's Note: Hullo, everyone! Well, I've finally fixed my terrible tense problems (many thanx to Kerista and chava, for finally forcing me to fix them!) I've also updated, and, other, than tense, a few other things have been minorly altered, so, if you havn't read the story all the way through for a while, I suggest you just read it again! And don't forget to review! MWAH!!! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
Gretchen, a.k.a. Rapunzel  
  
by Jenny the chica  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One: In which Gretchen leaves home...  
  
  
"Gretchen, come down! You need to get ready! You can sing later," Mother called.  
  
I sighed in mid-note, but scrambled down the stairs, running into Eneé, our maid.  
  
"Sorry!" I yelled over my shoulder as Eneé frantically scooped up the laundry that I had upset. I sighed. I was in a hurry because I had to leave soon to go live in a convent for a few years to be "finished" as Mother puts it. I still didn't see the necessity of going away to live in a place you've never seen, living with people you've never met. Mother didn't seem to agree with my logic.   
  
"There you are," Mother said as I suddenly slowed at the doorway to her bedroom. I took in her tall, willowy figure, clad in her favorite dress of green vines intertwined with leaves of a slightly lighter shade. She said that she always wears it for special occasions, and I hated to think that this was a special occasion to her, because it sure wasn't to me.  
  
I walked over to her and she began to braid and plait my hair for the trip to the Convent of Carronsburgh. As she did this, I heard her humming the song I had been singing earlier. I couldn't hold in my smile. Throughout my thirteen years, Mother has taught me to appreciate music and songs. One thing that Mother said about the convent was that they had a very well known music program, and it was the only thing that I looked forward to at all about leaving. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, but Mother hadn't seen it. That is just as well, for although Mother and I are like peas in a pod, closer than close, I didn't think that I could explain to her the pain my departure was causing me. To leave everything I had ever known was bad enough, but to leave Mother...  
  
A drop of water on my shoulder startled my thoughts as I realized Mother was crying as well. Seeing that she was done braiding my hair, which goes only to my mid-back, I turned and hugged her tightly. She hugged back just as tight, and we stayed like that for a long time. I almost cried again at the thought of having to let go, and I spent the whole time wishing that those moments would stay in my head forever, that I would always be able to go back and feel Mother's arms around me, as I had for thirteen years. My thoughts were interrupted by the neigh of horses as the coach that the convent had sent pulled up in front of our huge manor.   
  
Mother broke away from me, then whispered, "It's time to go, love."   
  
I didn't want to go, but I knew that I had to. I turned to Mother to say goodbye, but she just nodded in response to my facial expression, and I ran downstairs, knowing that there was no way I could have held back my flood of tears if I stayed any longer with   
Mother, trying to say goodbye.   
  
I reached the front door, and walked outside after taking one last glance up the winding grand staircase. Enelle, our other maid and Eneé's sister, had already loaded my single trunk into the carriage. I hugged the sisters as they tearfully said goodbye. It was terribly hard for me to have to say goodbye to them, as they have been second mothers to me.  
  
After stepping into the carriage, I noticed a figure that I didn't recognize in the corner. After I sat down, she introduced herself as Sister Adelè. She said that she had been sent by the Convent of Carronsburgh to escort me there. I smiled and said thank you, after which she yelled, "Drive on!" at the driver, who appeared to be another nun of a lower level than Sister Adelè.   
  
"That's Sister Isabelle," she told me, as if she could read my thoughts.   
  
I nodded blankly, then turned around, to look at our manor one last time, and see Mother at her window upstairs. I waved, and she waved back, but then let her curtains conceal her room once more. I slowly turned around, only to find Sister Adelè snoring. This gave me a chance to study her, and I found her to be rather on the plump side, with a kind smile on a chubby face. She had brownish eyebrows, so I assumed that they match her hair, which was concealed by a habit.   
  
After making sure she was asleep, I allowed a few stray tears to wander down my face, willfully letting them come. As I was crying, just about to hit the sobbing-so-terribly-you-can-hardly-breathe-and-there's-no-telling-when-in-the-world-you'll-stop stage, while still trying to somewhat muffle it from Sister Adelè, who could probably sleep through an earthquake, I felt my heel hit something. I reached down, feeling around until I touched a bag of some sorts. I grabbed it and pulled it out, onto my lap. It was a very pretty bag, velvet with delicate vines sewn in it. It was Mother's favorite color of green, and I immediately knew that it was from her. I opened it slowly and delicately, after pushing a few golden strands of my hair out of my face.   
  
I gasped when I saw its contents. I shot a suspicious glance in Sister Adelè's direction, but she continued on snoring, so I opened the book that had been in the bag. I smiled when I saw that it was a book of fairy tales. It had always been an inside joke between Mother and I. Mother had raised me on fairy tales, and I had always said that they reminded me of her, as she looked so like the beautiful heroines in the story. This gift meant more to me than anything else, as Mother had made sure I would constantly remember her during my long years without her at the convent. Now she would be real to me in the stories that she had given me.   
  
Despite myself, a tear rolled down my cheek, and I knew that several more were destined to follow. I inwardly scolded myself for all the petty tears that I had shed today, and just after I had finally convinced myself to stop crying, mainly because of Sister Adelè's presence, I felt something else in the bag.   
  
As I pulled it out, I wondered how I could not have noticed it before, for it was inches thick. Designed as a journal, the little, yet thick, book was simply bounded and filled with common paper. I expected it to be for me to keep a diary of sorts of life in convent school, but when I opened it, it said this:  
  
  
  
My dearest Gretchen,  
  
I hope that this message finds you on your way to the Convent of Carronsburgh. Although I know that you do not wish to go, we both know~ yes, you know you do somewhere deep inside~ that it is for the best. Darling, you do not know how much I hate to give you up for a few years, but I think you got an idea from our good-bye.  
  
After that introduction, I will state the real reason that I gave you this journal. You may suspect that this is for you to state your life over the years that you will stay at the convent, but it is not. My dearest, this is a magic book. With it, you and I can write to each other, just like in letters, except the message will get to the other immediately, as will the response. I sent the fairy tale book to you to think of me, and with this book you will be able to talk to me just as if I was right there with you. If you want, we can ever so often work out a time when we both will be there and have an actual conversation through writing. Well dear, have a good time at the convent, remember what I instructed you on, and never forget that I love you with all my heart.  
  
Love,   
  
Mother  
  
  
Ps~ I know that this book is rather large, but that is to hold the tremendous amount of writing I know you'll write. If you want to make it smaller for traveling or hiding purposes, just say, "inemsu ottweh ihmah" and it will change size to whatever you desire. Whatever you do, take this book with you everywhere, and write often!   
  
  
  
I looked up, amazed. Then I read it again. Excited as I was that I would be able to feel almost as if I had never left Mother, I had to wonder how she had gotten a magic book, and known words to make it smaller or larger, as if it wasn't large enough. Confusing myself too much, I followed Sister Adelè's "advice" and went to sleep, but only after reading the first story of my book, saving the others, to spread them out over my first few nights in Carronsburgh, which I suspected to be very lonely.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Thanks and kudo bars to everyone who took the time to read this! I'll post some more of it a little later! To read the story behind this story, go to my profile! Thanks for reading! 


	2. In which everything is suddenly new and ...

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed my story! B/c of y'all, I'm posting the next chapter to both of mine! Please review! Thanks, all! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two: In which everything is suddenly new and strange...  
  
  
I felt myself being shaken as my name was constantly being whispered, over and over again. My eyes flew open to see Sister Adelè's face inches from mine. I shook the sleep from my face, and fixed my golden hair back into what Mother had done with it. I vaguely heard Sister Adelè's voice, saying that we had reached the convent.  
  
I gingerly stepped out of the carriage into a biting wind that tore at my thick fur cape, gripping at my bag from Mother, not willing to be separated from it. I stared for the first time at the dark, iron building that is to be my home for the next few years, and shuddered. I felt the hands of Sister Isabelle and Sister Adelè on my back and shoulders as I was led down the front walkway. Much as I wanted to pull away, I knew that I could never, for Mother's sake, do such a disgraceful thing. Nevertheless, I looked forward to being able to write to her in my magic book tonight.   
  
  
  
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I stepped through the front door of the Convent of Carronsburgh, only to be greeted by soft sounds of humming. I tiptoed around in the footsteps of Sisters Isabelle and Adelè, following them to my new room. Although I was frightened, I knew I must not show it, so I stood up straight in case any students should happen to pass by. None did, of course, but I was glad to finally reach my room, which is mine alone, decorated as Mother had requested for me.   
  
Since I had eaten supper in the carriage, I had been given the rest of the evening to myself, to unpack and move in, but I was expected to follow the schedule left out for me to the letter the next day. I sighed, but kept on unpacking Mother's bag. My luggage was soon delivered, and I unpacked as quickly as I could, trying to give as much time to writing to Mother, while still being able to rise at five the next morning.  
  
I settled in my bed, as my room had attracted a chill, and began writing:  
  
  
  
Dear Mother,  
  
I read your message on the way to the Convent of Carronsburgh, and write this in my new room there. Thank you for furnishing it for me, and especially for the two books you left me. Mother, I so wish to come home, and I can tell from looking at my schedule that I already detest being finished even more. I won't, however, make you read this whole message full of my complaints, which I will now keep mostly confined to only my thoughts. Oh, Mother, I am already lonesome and I haven't even begun the lessons which I must start tomorrow. Tell Eneé and Enelle that I miss them very much, but that I love them with all my heart. Mother dear, I had hoped to fill the first dozen pages with this message, but I suppose that that will have to wait until my next 'letter.' Oh, well. Please write quickly and often, for I should have much more to tell tomorrow night. Until next time you write, Mother, Goodbye.   
  
Your loving daughter,   
  
Gretchen  
  
  
  
I was not sure exactly how to send it to Mother, so I just closed the book and assumed it has reached her. After seeing clearly that worrying would not help anything, I put the book in my bedside drawer and closed my eyes to welcome the sleep that I felt quickly coming upon me. I hurriedly blew out my candle and fell asleep, with the hummed notes that had been sung when I first entered lingering in my thoughts.  
  
  
  
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I awoke the next morning to the chimes of bells in the main tower, where the main assembly hall was located. At least, I suppose it was meant to chime, but when one was living only a few buildings away, the entire foundation seemed to shake.  
  
Assuming that this would be my wake-up call from now on, I stumbled out of bed and prepared for the day. As I was putting on one of my favorite dresses, I noticed a dress laid across my drawer with a note on it. I walked over to read it, which says:  
  
  
  
Dear Gretchen,  
  
We welcome you to our dear convent. Please wear this dress, measured for you, during school hours and all classes. You may wear what you like in your room. As your schedule says, be at the dining room at 5 :45 this morning. We will see you there.  
  
Mother Abbess  
  
  
  
I hated the idea of wearing a uniform, but when I saw it, I saw that it was not a uniform at all, at least, not what I had thought to be a uniform. It was more beautiful than I had ever dreamed a school would provide, and I fixed my hair as best I could to accent it.  
  
I glanced at the clock, then quickly walked to the dining room, for I didn't want to be late on my first day.  
  
Just as I walked in, my foot caught the step from the doorway into the main room, and I stumbled forward, my accidental stomps echoing off the wooden floor and painted walls. All eyes close to the door turned and stared. I smiled nervously, and I thought that I saw one girl smile back. I hurried to the empty spot next to her, noticing that she wore a burgundy dress made in the same style as mine.   
  
As we sat down to breakfast, I was given a chance to look around the room. The sisters and the Mother Abbess all wear the traditional black, gray and white, but the students, of which there were only about two-dozen, all wore more colorful clothing. I only saw dark forest green and the burgundy that I wore. I realized that the color of your dress shows your age. These dresses, all made from the same pattern of a new style, had an empire waist with a silky fabric making up the bodice, which cut off straight at a few inches below the front shoulder bones. The sleeves were tight at some areas and had extra, bunched-up cloth in others, forming "bubbles" around one's arms. These were made up of different shades of the main color, some darker, some lighter. Flat ribbons, slightly thicker than string, were sewn in to appear to be tied around the "bubbles." Much more than I would have ever expected from such a strict and painfully traditional school such as this. Yet, remembering what Mother had told me of the financial status of the majority of this school, I imagined parents in the past had oft complained of the old uniforms.  
  
As I continued to silently stare around the room, hearing bits and pieces of conversations as they floated by, I was able to solve the "mystery" and find burgundy to be worn by the thirteen year-olds and the deep green by the soon-to-graduate fourteen year-olds. The school only lasts two years, as one begins a few weeks after her thirteenth birthday, as I have, and leaves a few days into her fifteenth year, as I will in two years.   
  
My thoughts for solving the school's mysteries were interrupted by a voice next to me.   
  
"Hello, I'm Grace."  
  
I turned to see the face of the girl who I had thought had smiled back at me when I had first entered. I then saw a hopeful smile full of nervousness. I smiled back.  
  
"I'm Gretchen," I answered, although she had not asked a question.  
  
She smiled, and I noticed a string of girls sitting down the table in a line from her who also had burgundy dresses on, who smiled as well, and we all began talking about everything imaginable, and we soon became great friends.  
  
  
  
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The days quickly sped by, and I found life not to be so bad at the convent. I especially enjoyed the music class, and I became the teacher's immediate favorite. All my classes included at least a couple of my new friends, and we all became closer and closer. The convent became a nice place to live after one was there for a while, and got used to the new lifestyle, and it even started to feel a little like home. Just as the convent had become perfect, and I was so used to it that daily life there was second nature, which was not until after I had been there for about three fourths of a year, some of the girls left, as they were now fifteen, old enough to leave. The rest of us tearfully said goodbye, but then a thirteen year-old would turn fourteen, and we would welcome her in, so our group kept growing.   
  
Eventually, though, I celebrated my fifteenth birthday. It was awful to think of leaving my friends, but I looked forward very much to being able to go home and see Mother. Although I had been constantly writing her in my magic book, the chance to finally see her and show her all that I had learned was what I had been waiting for. I had told her about our group of friends, about all that we did together, how each was especially different in her own way, and so on. Her replies and the stories in the other book that she had given me got me through the few times I was lonely.  
  
She had told me that she had sent her new servant to pick me up at noon the next day, and I excitedly packed my bags that night, ready to finally go home. 


	3. In which there is a huge plot twist...

Hey, everyone! Wow, it's good to be back up and runnin! lol Anywho, thanx for more reviews, y'all...I love em! Keep writing! Enjoy it!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Three: In which there is a huge plot twist...  
  
  
I awoke early on my last morning at the Convent of Carronsburgh, for I wanted to say good-bye to my "special places." These included the places around the convent where I went with my group of friends. There were little spots here and there, but the main garden was where I most often went. I loved the many types of flowers, and I spent time saying "good-bye" to each and every one of them.  
  
After finishing this, I did my duty, for Mother, of course, and bid farewell to all the sisters and to the Mother Abbess. When I was finally done, I completed the hardest part: saying "good-bye" to all my friends. I finally got this over with, though my emotions and heart screamed. I then gathered my suitcases and waited for Mother's carriage.   
  
My eyes slowly skimmed the road, but I doubted that I would see anything soon. Mother had said that the coach would arrive at noon, and it was only eleven thirty. But, I wanted to get home as soon as I possibly could, so I waited there. I suddenly remembered that Mother had said she had sent a new servant to come get me, so I wouldn't recognize the driver or my greeter.  
  
I heard a rumbling in the distance, and I immediately sat up and squinted to try to see the upcoming carriage. I soon saw a huge cloud of dust, and then a tiny black shape that was creating it.   
  
As it turned into the gate of the convent, I stood, ready to load into it. It suddenly stopped at the gate. Then the driver, whom I didn't recognize, hopped down and beckoned for me to haul my luggage to the gate. I lugged it over to the carriage, then stepped in as gracefully as I could, Mother's bag at my side. I saw a figure in the corner as my eyes adjust to the dark interior of the carriage, and, having a strange, horrible feeling that something was wrong, open Mother's bag and whisper, "Inemsu ottweh ihmah." I then tucked the now-tiny book into a hidden pocket of my dress.  
  
My eyes fully adjusted to the light by then, I smiled at the figure across from me. I noticed that she was veiled, and all her face, except her eyes, was completely hidden. I thought I saw a twinkle in her black eyes, but I was not sure.  
  
I looked out the carriage window after feeling a turn I didn't remember. To my horror, I saw that I was heading the opposite direction from Mother's manor. I turned to the mysterious figure and threatened, "Whatever you are doing and wherever I am going, stop, and take me home! How dare you go against Mother's wishes when you only work for he-"  
  
She stopped me, then said, "Child, it does not concern me what your 'Mother' wishes. No, I do not work for her. I'm taking you where you belong."  
  
"So you're kidnapping me! Of all the wicked, evi-"  
  
"Silence!" she thundered, and I felt as if her voice was pushing me against my seat. "I am not kidnapping you. Like I said, I am taking you back where you belong."  
  
"I belong at home, with my mother," I threw at her, very frightened, yet trying every way I could to hide it.  
  
"Exactly! I knew you'd get it! Yes, you belong at home, with your mother, which is exactly where I'm taking you."   
  
"My home is the other direction! And Mother is there, too."  
  
"Wrong again, love! Your home is where we're going, and your mother is right here with you."  
  
"What? What do you mean?" I asked, now totally and completely baffled.  
  
"What do I mean?" she said, in a whiny voice. "I mean what I say, child! Your mother is here, now, with you at this very instant in this very coach! Do you not understand?" she said so sternly I backed away, into my seat.   
  
"That's impossible, there's no way you could be my mother," I said slowly, trying to work it all out in my head.  
  
"Very possible, love, very possible. You were stolen from me instants after you were born, but now my baby has returned to me."  
  
I stiffened, but allowed her to hug me. I was shocked with disbelief. I kept thinking, "How can this be? Mother never told me anything!" and so on. I looked up to see my mother, no, she could never be, taking off her veil. I gasped as I saw what it had hidden. I saw her greenish face, huge, warty nose, and gray-black, limp hair. I screamed and darkness closed in around me. 


	4. In which we find out why this is a retel...

Author's note: Hey, y'all! Sorry it's been so long since I updated...almost three months...whoops...anywho, please read and review! Or ya can always email me(juniorita_peeps@hotmail.com)! Feedback is GREATLY appreciated, even if you're convinced that this is a load of crap! Ok...on with the story! lol ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Four: In which we find out why this is a retelling of Rapunzel..  
  
  
I awoke on an amazingly comfortable bed that felt like it is made of silk and satin, but I knew that that was just my thoughts. It wasn't until I stepped out of bed and rubbed the sleep off my eyes that I saw that the sheets actually were made of silk. I looked around the room and saw that it was very richly decorated, with every luxury one could imagine, decorated in gold and silver and burgundy and forest green and more, and, among it all, I saw my suitcases, including Mother's bag, all waiting for me, lying next to me, on the floor next to the bed. I immediately sensed magic, like what I had read about in Mother's fairy tale book.  
  
I thought I heard someone talking, so I went out the small balcony that I saw, only to find myself about thirty feet high in a huge tower. My head began to swim and I clutched the railing. I finally convinced my self to look down, and I saw the witch on the ground, yelling in her powerful voice, which I heard clearly, even though I was so high up in the tower.   
  
I heard her say, "Ah, Rapunzel, my child, this is your home."  
  
Rapunzel? "Um, my name is Gretchen."   
  
She shook her head. "No, your name is Rapunzel. The thief may have named you that, but your true name is Rapunzel."  
  
I wanted to say, "Actually, I really liked Gretchen," but I was still very confused and frightened, so I chose not to.  
  
She continued her yelling, "Rapunzel, I will come to visit you here every day. When I come to the bottom of the tower, I will call out 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair,' and you will do so. Understand?"  
  
"What good is letting my hair down going to do?" I asked, showing her my curly, shoulder-length, golden hair.  
  
"Child, just do it, and I will show you! I know a little bit of magic!"   
  
I sighed, yet did as she asked. Immediately, my hair, now in a thick, tight braid, grew long enough to touch the ground. Then, the witch began to climb it, of all things! Amazingly, it didn't hurt the slightest bit, although I was shocked that she was fit enough to be able to do it.  
  
When she reached the balcony, she let go of my hair, and it immediately shortened, unbraided, to its normal length. I stood there, amazed, my mouth agape.  
  
"How did you-" I began.  
  
"Child, child," she said, sitting beside me on the bed, "I told you I knew magic! Did you not believe me?"  
  
"Of course I did, it's just, I-I..."  
  
"It's all right, child, you're safe here. That is the only way anyone can get here. There are no other doors, windows, or stairs in the entire tower, which I built around you last night while you slept. I built it with magic, of course," she told me, while stroking my hair. She began to braid it. I pulled away.  
  
"All you will ever need and want will be provided for you," the witch continued. "Please stay with me, Rapunzel. But, I'm only saying that to be kind, because it's not like you can go anywhere. That's another advantage of this tower-there's no way you can get out. Well, I'll come again tomorrow to see you again, child. Good-bye."  
  
After saying this, she climbed down my hair, which had grown long again, and walked off, into the trees below. 


	5. In which old relationships remain strong...

A/N: Bonjour to all my darling readers! I am finally updating...two, yes, TWO chapters this time! Now I am BEGGING *here Jenny gets down on her knees* that you all review! PLEASE!!!!!!! I LIVE(and write, for that matter) off of reviews! If you don't review, I'm not inspired to write, and then...no updates! mwahahahahahahaha...*whew* Anywho, please review, but, even more importantly, enjoy it! Thanks, all! Your loving authoress, ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
Chapter Five: In which old relationships remain strong...  
  
  
I didn't realize the seriousness of my situation until after the witch was long gone beneath the cover of the trees. Although it seemed like a bad dream, it was all too real. I knew that I would just have to wait, but I could write Mother and get some answers, as I still had her magic book. I began to write:   
  
  
  
Dear Mother,  
  
I know that you must be worried sick about me, as whatever servant you had sent to come get me has returned empty-handed, but I'm fine.   
  
I was kidnapped by the most ugly woman I have ever seen, who claims to be my mother, but I'm sure that I don't have a witch for a Mother. She locked me up in a tower thirty feet above the ground, and there are no staircases or doors or windows for me to get out through. She insists that my name is "Rapunzel," but I liked Gretchen better. She said that she will come every morning, and she will say, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair," and I must, as I am frightened of the magic she has. My hair instantly grows down all the way to the bottom of the tower, and she climbs up it, though I don't feel a thing. Once she steps over my small balcony, my hair shortens to its regular length just as quickly as it had grown.  
  
Mother, I am so afraid. I try not to show it, but I am. I hate to ask, but I need some answers. Is she really my Mother? Why would you have lied to me? Mother, I'm so confused--shelter me no more, I need to learn the truth.  
  
Please write me soon, and I will continue to write you from my prison here. I love you, Mother.  
  
Your daughter,  
  
Gretchen  
  
  
  
I hoped that the book's magic is more powerful then the witch's, for I needed Mother to tell me these answers. There are so many things that I was not sure of, and Mother is the only one who could answer them, for I was not about to believe what the witch told me. 


	6. In which the truth is learned...

A/N: Special thanx to: *ahem* Dara, OYC_Bambi@yahoo.com, crystal, Heaven, and hemlock(who was the only with enough energy to sign in...lol)! They are my six reviewees! (BTW, is that even a word? oh, well...) Thanx, y'all! Now the rest of you who are spending time reading this review! Thank you! Enjoy! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
Chapter Six: In which the truth is learned...  
  
  
The next morning, I awoke a little after sunrise, and I stepped out onto my balcony to see the ending of the colors that lit up the sky. I had always loved the beauty that sunrises created, and I sat carefully on my balcony railing and began to sing, making up words and tunes as I went. I had always loved making up my own songs, and now that my voice had been even more finely tuned as a result of my classes at the convent, they sounded even better, if I could humbly say so.  
  
I was interrupted after who knows how long by a familiar, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair."  
  
I did so, but continued to sing, ignoring the witch as she climbed up.  
  
She finally reached the top, and said, as my hair shortened, "That was beautiful, my dear Rapunzel, just beautiful."  
  
I turned my back to her, refusing to acknowledge her presence.   
  
"Child!" she scolded. "Stop acting like that! Do you truly have the heart to turn your back on your own mother, after I carried and bore you?"  
  
I turned to her and accused, "Are you really my Mother? Why should I believe you? Kidnappers are not usually honest. Why should you be any different?"  
  
"Rapunzel, my dear," she threw back through clenched teeth, "Do you think that I would go into this much trouble for someone who was not my own? Child! Not even I am that foolish. One does not do things like this for people who will not return the love this showed. Only a mother's would build something like this to protect you as much as this tower does."  
  
I felt a tear roll down my cheek, realizing that it might be true that this witch was truly my Mother. Why my "real" mother would lie to me, I have no idea, but hopefully her reply to my letter would tell me.  
  
"Well, child," the witch said, after letting me think for awhile, "I will go now and leave you to your thoughts. Let down your hair, and I will climb down, and come again tomorrow morning. Hopefully you will have realized the truth by then."  
  
I rose from where I had been sitting and silently walked over to the edge of my balcony, and flipped my hair over my shoulder, as it began to grow, as quickly as it had before. The witch climbed down, then walked away, into the depths of the woods, until I could see her no more.  
  
I trudged back inside, then, remembering my magic book, hurried to my bedside drawer and pulled it out. I opened it, to be met with the reply I had been waiting for. It said:  
  
  
  
My dearest Gretchen,  
  
I knew that this day would eventually come, but I'm so sorry that it did. You see, I am not your real Mother.  
  
  
  
I gasped at this news, then continued reading, eager for more answers, though I felt tears flowing constantly down my face, like a slow, steady rain. I hated to cry over what I knew to be the truth, but I had just lost whom I had thought to be my Mother, to instead get a witch, who had kidnapped me, as my mother.  
  
  
  
My dear, I know that this will be hard news for you to accept, but keep on reading, and I will explain everything.  
  
  
  
Mother went on to tell the story of a baker and his wife, and how the wife, soon-to-be-mother, had longed for rampion, or rapunzel, from their neighbor's garden, and he ended up stealing it. The second night he did, he met the fairy who owned the garden, who let him take the rest of the rampion, but she had put a curse on it, unbeknownst to him. This curse killed him and turned his wife into a witch. His wife went into labor a few minutes later, and the baby girl she bore was taken up immediately by the fairy, who took her to raise her, far away from her evil Mother. But, just as the fairy flew away with the child, the witch vowed to someday reclaim her daughter.  
  
  
  
As you might have already guessed, the Mother is the witch who kidnapped you, I am the fairy, and you are the child. My dear Gretchen, be strong. Remember how much I love you, even though I am not your real Mother. Please continue to write me, for though you are not my own flesh and blood, you will always feel like it to me.  
  
I love you, dearest Gretchen,   
  
Your Mother, forever  
  
  
  
I fell back on the bed, thinking about what I had just read. Although it was hard news, I had half-expected it, or at least a part of it. I would still write Mother, even though I couldn't call her "Mother" anymore. I would find something else to call her. But still, the fact that she was a fairy astounded me. How could she have hid that huge secret all the thirteen years that I lived with her? Of course, the fact that she was a fairy explained why and how I had gotten the magic book, and why I always thought she had looked like the characters in fairy tales.   
  
I hated having to admit to my "new" mother that she had been right, but I didn't want her to get suspicious, for then she would become more and more strict, until I had even less freedom than I already had.  
  
Tears still falling, I went back to my drawer and brought out the book of fairy tales that Mother had given me, for I wanted never to forget her.  
  
After thinking about it for a while, I finally thought of what to call Mother: my fairy mother. I quickly wrote her a brief letter asking if that was all right, and she wrote back a few hours later that that would be "just wonderful."  
  
  
  
A/N: Welps, kids, that's all for now! Review and I'll post the next chapter...when it gets good! (dum, dum, DUM!!!!!) ~Jenny the chica~ 


	7. In which fate and destiny are accepted.....

A/N: Whoops...I was wrong...it doesn't get good until the NEXT chapter...hehehehe...you'll just have to review to get it! (Mwahahahahaha...*gasp for breath...cough, cough*)   
  
Oh...candy cane kudos bars (my, doesn't that sound appetizing...) to Baloo (if you have reviewed before my review, then your thanx is in my review...now read this chapter, review, and THEN read it! thanx!) K...I'll shut up now...enjoy it, kids! It gets good in the next chapter...PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
Chapter Seven: In which fate and destiny are accepted...  
  
  
Next morning, I acted nicely to the witch. She beamed with delight, believing my hoax that I truly had accepted her as my Mother, and she seemed to loosen the "chain" she had around my neck a little.   
  
Of course, Mother, as she insisted on me calling her by, had to spend breakfast with me, and when she finally left, I smiled my final false smile, and watched her climb down. I walked back into my room, and wondered how long I could carry on this game of making Mother think that I was sincere. I knew that I had to, though, because if I suddenly stopped now, she would get suspicious and might find the books that Mother had given me, which I would not and could not let her take.  
  
Although it seemed that nothing would ever be clear to me, I looked out to see beautiful sunshine, and I went out to sit on the edge of the balcony and sang, as I had the day before.  
  
It was my singing and my fairy mother's books that got me through those first long weeks. I would go out every day and sing, and I wrote my fairy mother every day, and she constantly wrote back as well, helping me to continue to put all the energy and effort it took to keep Mother from getting suspicious.   
  
Mother continued to come every morning, at close to the same time. Many times, though, she would stay for breakfast, and I would have to talk with her for long hours at a time, and pretend to be interested in what she said. Most of the time, she talked about how she had been waiting so long to find me again, and how glad she was that she had found me. She often talked about my fairy mother, whom she called "the evil fairy." So, I listened to her droning day after day, and sighed with relief every time she disappeared into the thick woods under my tower.  
  
I hated most, mainly myself, the fact that she would listen intently to every word that I said. She always said that the times she spent with me were the best she had ever spent. I hated the fact that I hid so much from her, and didn't return half the love she gave me. I just couldn't, for, how can one love a witch?   
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Welps, kids, I've broken down and named my chapters...and similarities between them and those from East of the Sun, West of the Moon, are simply amazing...hmmm...so, review, then go read and review East...PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! *falls on her knees, then kisses your feet* 


	8. In which everything is made better...

A/N: Hola to all! I've given in and updated, but I don't feel like writing a long note because I don't feel good...or well...or whatever...I feel yucky! Anywho, I like this chapter a lot, so please review and tell me what u think, too! I'll try to update East of the Sun, West of the Moon soon (ha! that rhymed!), but i dunno...tootles til next time! =o) ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Eight: In which everything is made better...  
  
  
  
One day, after I had been living in my tower for over a year and getting quite sick of it, I went to my balcony to sing, as I usually did after Mother had left from the tower in the morning. I heard a loud rustling in the trees surrounding the clearing that went out about ten yards, encircling my tower, and I immediately stopped singing. When I looked around, I saw nothing, and assumed that it was a large deer or some other common animal, but I could have sworn I heard a the familiar "neigh" of a horse, and the sound of it's galloping hooves.   
  
That same evening, I went on doing my daily routine of that time of day: reading a story or two, writing to my fairy godmother, wishing that I would get out here someday, for life hadn't gotten any easier, especially now that I'd been here over a year. In fact, I   
had just celebrated my sixteenth birthday a few weeks ago, and I hated to think that I had been here for over a whole year.   
  
I was a little "out of it" tonight, for I was not really feeling well, and I was quite tired. Just as the sun began to set, after I had finished dinner, I heard a voice call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair."  
  
Not looking down, I lowered my hair out of habit, too annoyed to look at Mother. I would just tell her that I was tired, and to please come back tomorrow, and I would be more than willing to help her.   
  
I heard her step over the balcony, and I turned, still not looking at her, and walked over back to my warm room, as it was getting colder outside. As I did, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I froze, not moving a muscle. I then realized that, frustrated as I had been, I had failed to notice that: first of all, Mother never came in the evening--always in the morning--and second of all, the voice didn't sound like hers. I slowly glanced down at the hand that had been laid on my shoulder, and I found it to be normal flesh colored, not greenish, and rather large. I heard footsteps as the owner of the hand slowly walked around to face me. Startled, I fell down, luckily landing on my bed in a sitting position. I felt the unknown "intruder" cup my face in the same hand that had touched my shoulder, and I raised my eyes to finally look at the figure.  
  
I gasped, as I stared into a pair of crystal-blue eyes inches from my face. I soon realized that I was face to face with a man. Now, having grown up first in a home with only a mother and all female servants, then living in a convent for two and a half years, and finally being locked up in this tower, with Mother the only one I ever saw, I had never seen a man before-never. Thankfully, they had been mentioned in my fairy-tale book, and my fairy godmother had written me in one of her recent letters, telling me that she was sure that one day a man would come to the tower, and I wouldn't be alone any more, so I wasn't as shocked as one might expect someone in my position to be. Nevertheless, it still wasn't exactly what I had been expecting.  
  
"Hello." I whispered, for what reason, I don't know, nervously, forcing myself to calm down. "I'm Gretchen."  
  
He bowed, than gently lifted my hand and kissed it. Lowering it, he motioned to the empty seat next to me on the bed, motioning if it was all right to sit there. I nodded with a smile, which he returned as he sat. "Hello!" he said, almost eagerly, as if he had been waiting a long time to say it. "My name is Tobin." He paused, confused, then continued, "I thought your name was 'Rapunzel,' I mean, didn't I just ask you to lower your hair, and you..."  
  
Here he trailed off, even more puzzled. I helped him out. "You see, Tobin, that is what my mother calls me. My real name is Gretchen."  
  
"But why would your name be something else than what your mother calls you?" Reasonable question. I should have known that he would have asked it. So, I explained to him what all had happened in my life up until now, leaving nothing at all out.  
  
Once I was finished, we both were in silent thought for a moment or two, and then we began comfortably talking. I began to like him more and more, just getting used to him as a friend. He then told me his story, how he was the prince of our huge country of Echligia, and just how he had grown up. Astonished as I was that I had just met and befriended the prince, I was glad when he mentioned that he was just seventeen years old, close to my sixteen. What he said next both flattered and surprised me.   
  
He said that the reason that he was here now was that, a few weeks ago, he had been hunting in these woods, and had gotten separated from the rest of the hunting party. Wandering through the woods, he told me that he had heard the most beautiful singing voice ever, and he walked around, silently leading his horse, until he came to the edge of the woods, just before entering the clearing, and saw this tower that we were in now. He explained how he would come every day after that, to hear me sing, and one time he had even circled 'round the tower to try and find a way in, only to find none. Finally, he said that he came at just the time to day to see a woman, who he now knew to be Mother, calling out, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair!" Amazed to see what happened next, he quickly rode away, to come back later and see if he could call out the same words and get in the tower to see the mysterious maiden. "Which," he concluded, "Brought me to where I am now."  
  
As involved as I had become in his story, I had not noticed the time it had taken. I looked out the balcony, only to see pitch-black darkness, and then realized, after looking at the clock, that it was one in the morning. I laughed, and told Tobin this, and he laughed as well. I explained to him, as he prepared to leave, that Mother came every morning promptly at eight, and sometimes stayed until eleven. He told me that he would come visit me everyday, to which I told him to come around five, where the light wasn't so bright here. With a final word of caution to him to not listen to my singing at any other times, since I was afraid that one day Mother would catch him, I said good-bye.   
  
He smiled, saying, "Don't worry so much, Gretchen."   
  
Here we had to part, as we were now standing on the balcony, and I began to let my hair down. He started his climb down, then stepped quickly back up, grabbed me, bent down, and suddenly kissed me on my lips, his blond hair mingling with mine.   
  
I was completely baffled, but I watched him as he slid down my hair, skip to his horse, and gallop off with a final wave. I waved back, then walked slowly back to bed. Although I was still exhausted, it was a while before I got to sleep, for I was trying to figure out what exactly had happened in the last few hours. At first, I had thought that Tobin and I were becoming good friends, but since he kissed me, I was not sure. I still had not figured it out when sleep finally claimed me.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/n: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....now go review, because the Great Turkey is coming! mwahahahahahahahahahaha....ok then...Jenny's gonna go take a nap now...ta ta for now! ~Jenny the chica~ 


	9. In which Gretchen reflects...

A/N: Bonjour, all! SUPER-SIZE candy cane kudos bars tooooooooooo: hemlock (twice), Heaven, Chien, Baloo, MountainDew, and Ali! Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo much...reviews make my day and rock my world! tee-hee! I hope y'all enjoy this! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Nine: In which Gretchen reflects...  
  
  
  
I awoke late the next morning, to a throbbing head. I couldn't figure out what had woken me, but then I heard Mother crying, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair," over and over again.   
  
As soon as I realized what was happening, I ran to the balcony and let my hair down, hoping that she wasn't too suspicious. I looked down and realized that I had slept in my dress in my daze after last night, and I made an effort to smooth down the wrinkles. As I did this, Mother finished climbing up and stepped over the balcony.  
  
I hurriedly explained to her how I had not been feeling well, which caused me to oversleep. She believed me, and said that she would leave, to let me continue to get better.   
  
I waved weakly as she climbed back down, and then started laughing, harder than I had ever laughed before, the minute I saw her disappear into the dark cloak of the trees. The fact that she had fallen for my stupid excuse was amazing, but then the thought hit me that she might love me enough to be willing to give up what she always called her "special family time" just so I could get "better."   
  
Nevertheless, I knew that I must now be more careful than ever, as I was hiding two things, not just my fairy godmother's book. If Mother ever found out about Tobin...I shuddered. She had shown be before what she could do in her anger. She had once struck me for something I had done wrong, and she has shown me her magic powers often, and I would hate for her to use them on Tobin or me.   
  
However, I was thankful that the rest of the day was mine as I wished, so I went to write my fairy godmother, telling her about Tobin and last night. I couldn't wait until she wrote back and I could read her response.   
  
After I was done with this, I began to get ready for tonight. I was nervous, as Tobin had promised to come again tonight, and I was very anxious to see him. In fact, I really missed him, for I had only known him for less than a day, yet we were already surprisingly close. It was also nice to have someone other than Mother to talk to.  
  
So, that was why I stood in front of my closet, filled with dresses Mother had made for me, using magic, as well as my old dresses from the convent. As Mother had promised when I first came here, I had been given anything and everything I ever wanted. Thankfully, my fairy godmother had raised me to be kind, gracious, and polite, so I only   
asked for anything when it was absolutely necessary. But now, I had run into the basic feminine conflict since who knows when: deciding what to wear.  
  
After staring, trying on one selection, taking it off, staring some more, trying on another dress, then taking it off, staring again... well, after doing this for a while, I finally decided on a silver dress with sleeves decorated with "bubbles," as I called them, much like the dresses I wore at the convent. It was one of my nicer dresses, and this seemed like a special occasion to me, so I deemed it the best choice.  
  
The rest of my evening until five was spent tidying and re-tidying my room, as I wanted it to be perfect when Tobin got here.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Sorry it's so short...but if you want more, just review, and I'll try to update before January...but it might not be physically possible...if so, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! MWAH!!!! Luv ya all!!!! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
ps~I am SEVEN reviews away from two pages....YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (it's the little things in life) 


	10. In which Gretchen and Tobin meet again.....

A/N: I know, I know...another chapter with not much...sorry, guys! Please review anyway, and I'll try to update...yup yup! Oh...and about the chapters bein too short...well, ya see, originally I had less chapters, and some of these chapters were combined, but then I changed the story DRASTICALLY, and then I liked it better the other way, SO...yeah...i just never put the chapters back together...I'll try to update more often...=o)...thanx to my reviewees Chein and hemlock! ta-ta for now, kids! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Ten: In Which Gretchen and Tobin Meet Again...  
  
  
Exactly at five, I heard a voice calling, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair."  
  
I ran over to the balcony and did so, as I watched Tobin quickly climb up. We walked into my single room, and ate dinner, which he said he had skipped in order to spend as much time as he could with me, together there. After that, we talked as late as we had the night before, and I realized how sheltered I was as he told me about the world outside my tower.   
  
All too soon, it was time for Tobin to go. We both knew that he had too, for if he stayed too late, he might pass Mother as she walked to my tower. I hated to see him go, and he said that he hated to leave me, so it made me look forward to tomorrow night, when he said he would come next.  
  
Just before he began to climb down, he kissed me again, and left me standing there a good while after he disappeared into the night.   
  
Tobin confused me. I knew that he was royalty and "experienced," I suppose, in dealing with women as he had told me different stories of maidens, mostly the daughters of other kings and queens, who had come to his kingdom, trying to become his queen, and all the assorted things that had gone wrong while they were there. Tobin was very good at making me laugh. He said that my laugh sounded like "tinkling bells, soft, sweet, and melodious." He also liked to complement me, which I would say was "just flattery," although he would deny it with his laughing smile.   
  
Hard as I tried, I could not get Tobin off my mind. I finally told myself that we were "close friends" and went to sleep, but I knew that my heart hadn't gotten the message.   
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
  
  
Mother continued to come every morning, and Tobin came every evening. The more Tobin came, the closer we got. Our friendship grew, and we told each other everything. I would read to him parts of what Mother wrote to me in my book, and he would tell me all of what was happening in court, in the city, and around the world, even asking my advice for some of the court matters!  
  
One day, Tobin told me that he had to go to the city of Pursdyea, a few hundred miles from here, for a few days. That week without him was terribly hard for me, and I was so glad when he came back. We were both astounded by how much pain and agony our short separation had caused both of us, for Tobin told me that he had longed for me every minute he was gone.   
  
We both realized soon after this that our "friendship" was much more than a friendship. We were confused, but we steadily tried to work through the uncertainty together.  
  
One night, just as he left, Tobin turned to me and said, "Gretchen, I have a surprise for you. But...you'll have to wait until tomorrow evening to find out what it is."  
  
Knowing Tobin as well as I did now, I didn't try to beg him to tell me early, for I knew that there was no way he would bend. I just smiled and told him, "All right, then. I'll be waiting until tomorrow."  
  
He kissed me, for it had become his habit before he left, and I kissed him back, as I had been doing ever since I got over the shock of the first few nights. He then slid down, jumped on his horse, and rode away, leaving me curious with anticipation for his secret, which would not be revealed until tomorrow. 


	11. In which the witch is suspicious...

A/N: HOLA!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! AND..Happy Birthday to me, Hapy Birthday to me, Happy...ok then...but it IS my birthday...tee-hee...my birthday's an international holiday!! Yippee!!!!! Ok then...it's finally here, but it's WAY short...but the next chapter's longer, so I'm gonna leave this up for a while (here everyone groans in agony)...*grins evilly* but, i'll try to update soon...tootles! ~Jenny the chica the birfday gurly!~  
  
  
  
Chapter Eleven: In which the witch is suspicious...  
  
  
  
The next morning, everything had been going normally, Mother was there, but we were doing what we usually did : talking, eating, talking some more, etc.  
  
Suddenly, Mother jumped up and said, "Rapunzel, you're hiding something from me! Tell me what it is, or I'll-"  
  
She grabbed my hair and struck me once. "Mother!" I screamed. "Stop! Why would I hide anything from you? You know that I would nev-"  
  
"That's what I would like to know," she hissed. "What are you hiding from me? You've been acting rather strange lately, and I know you're keeping something from me!"  
  
Mother madly began to search my room, tossing anything in her way to and fro. Evidently, her search turned out to be in vain, as she never found anything. I was very glad that I had hidden my fairy godmother's book.  
  
After finishing her hunt around my room, she ordered me to go to the balcony and let my hair down. I gladly did so, and she climbed down, then left into the woods.   
  
I breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't found anything, then fell on my bed, crying, from pain and hurt and fear and worry. I finally calmed down, but I looked forward to Tobin's company tonight more than I had ever before.  
  
  
  
  
A/n: and kudos to: Ila, chien, Kerista, hemlock, and (especially) chava! MWAH!!!  
  
and chava...i hope you're happy...i already responded to your review in a review of my own for this story, but it took me FOREVER to fix everything...but i still luv ya! tootles! 


	12. In which Tobin's surprise is revealed...

Authoress's Note: Hmm...it was unanimous...sometimes nice, sometimes, well, shall we say...blunt...but anyhow, i am giving in to my adoring Public (here, here!), and updating...and this chapter is sweet, so i hope you're all happy! Humph!!! Much love to all, and kudos bars to Chein (many thanx for you lengthy and detailed review), Heaven (yours was by far the sweetest and gentlest), and hemlock (who correctly assumed that i m a raving maniac who enjoys throwing kudos bars at little children...mwahahahahahahahaha...whew...o...and, one golden day, I will expand this and make it mucho grandes better, but, sadly, today is not that golden day...eventually, tho =o)!!! Many thanx, much love, and be nice....santa claus (a.k.a. satan) is still watching!!! Teeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee...wow, i crack myself up!!! Tootles! ~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
  
  
Tobin came at five o'clock, exactly, and I embraced him tightly as he climbed over the balcony. He asked me why I had done that, and I explained to him, as soon as my sobs became slightly more muffled and I could breathe again, what had happened today.   
  
We sat on the bed, and he held me until I stopped shaking. Then, as soon as I dried my eyes and looked up at him, he said, "Gretchen, do you remember the surprise I promised you yesterday?"  
  
I nodded.   
  
"Well," he went on, "I think that this surprise might help this a little bit."  
  
I looked at him curiously, then whispered, "Go on."  
  
He got down on one knee, on the floor, beside me and told me, "Gretchen, I've loved you since I first heard your voice, and now as I've come to know you, I love you even more. And Gretchen, I would like to ask you to marry me, right here and right now."  
  
My jaw dropped for a moment, and then I reached over and hugged him again, realizing that I had loved him since he first came.  
  
"Yes, yes, Tobin, I'll marry you," I exclaimed, gasping breathlessly in my excitement. A thousand questions flooded my mind, and I tried to push them back, trying to enjoy this happy, memorable, once-in-a-lifetime moment, but they had to be asked before I could feel calm.  
  
"What about Mother? And how will I be able to get out to go back to your home with you? And how can we get married here and now? And how-"  
  
Tobin graciously cut me off. "Dear Gretchen, we will hide it from your mother just as we are now. You will stay here, and one day, I will come and be able to free you. In answer to your last question, in our country of Echligia, the royalty have the authority to marry others, as well as themselves."  
  
I smiled at how he could so easily calm me down, but there was one last thing I had to ask. "Tobin, the problem is, I can never leave here. If I leave, I know that Mother will find me. She found and kidnapped me before. Would it be so hard for her to do it again?"  
  
I started weeping, but Tobin gently said, "Don't worry, you'll get out one day. Until then, I'll come like this every night."  
  
"All right," I whispered, accepting what I knew that I only wanted to hear, but I tried to make myself at least partially believe him. "I won't worry."  
  
After I said this, he "positioned" me where to stand, and he stood across from me. There, we were married, and I looked forward to our evening talks even more.  
  
Sadly, my new husband did have to leave, and we parted at around two in the morning.   
  
I thought to myself, as I usually did every night after he left, how we would never be like normal couples, but we could still be happy, for, after all, we were in love.  
  
  
  
  
A/N: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...ok then...now go review!!! Thankies!! ~Jenny the chica, signing off...over aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand out!!!~ 


	13. In which a discovery is made...

A/N: All right...i know it's short...but it's important and...SHOCKING!!!!! So, read, review, and if i get enough reviews to keep me happy, i'll update sooner than later...so if you're impatient for more, review!!!  
  
Kudos to: hemlock (that golden day will be april at the ABSOLUTE earliest...dont get your hopes up too soon!), Heaven, sopraniluna, and Spirit-Saviour (TWICE!!! yipee! and you're welcome for my review...i luv your story!!!!) many thanx, and enjoy this (albeit) short chapter!!! tootles!  
  
~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
In which a discovery is made...  
  
  
Thankfully, I was able to keep our marriage hidden from Mother. She never again got upset like she had when she searched my room. I assumed that she still trusted me, and I still tried to act as best I could that everything was all right.  
  
A few months after Tobin and I had been married, I began to feel funny. I wasn't sure what it was, so I never mentioned it to Mother, and I only casually mentioned it to Tobin.  
  
After I had been feeling this way for a while, I noticed that I was beginning to look a little different. My waist had grown thicker, and I couldn't figure out why. I hadn't been eating any more than before, but I began to wear only dresses with high waists, self-consciously.   
  
One night, when I was talking about it with Tobin, he suddenly started forward from where he sat, and, for a moment, I feared that he was going to fall off the bed. Then he turned to me, and I saw that his face had grown pale.  
  
"Gretchen, how long have you been feeling funny?" he asked quickly, and I was frightened by his tone of voice.  
  
"I'd say about four to five months. Why, Tobin? What's the matter?"  
  
"Gretchen," he whispered, "I think you're pregnant."  
  
I gasped. Neither one of us had expected something like this to happen, or at least not so soon.   
  
"How will I hide it from Mother?" I cried. I was very fearful of what Mother would do to both Tobin and me if she were to figure this out, which would be very obvious quite soon.  
  
"We have no choice," Tobin told me, "We'll have to get you out of here. I'll bring a ladder for you to climb down in tomorrow. Just hide it from her for one more day, and then it will all be behind you."  
  
I sighed. It sounded so easy, but I had a bad feeling, which lasted all through the evening, and even after Tobin left.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
ps~does this answer your long-awaited kestion, Baloo??? 


	14. In which all is lost...

Authoress's Note: Sorry it's been so long, guys!!! I was outta school last week, and today I got ALL sorts of huge projects (such as an essay, research paper, and GIGANTIC timeline) assigned, on top of the srping musical (which I have practice for every night this month (or at least until the 23rd!)  
  
But, loyal readers, I am sacrificing my little window of free time to update! (You can all thank chava, because of her review of "Everything I Ever Knew")  
  
That's about all...oh yeah...kudos to: hemlock (you're close~actually, this was the way I first gave it to my friends: chapter by chapter, and smiling at *their* death threats...I do LOVE reviews, but I also love suspense! oh, and i'm posting BEFORE arpil!!! yipee!), fairy_true (i luv the turkey, too! Good questions! Yes, Gretchen WAS sheltered from men, and it's the words, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair" that cause her hair to grow like that. Do you still want to email me...or for me to email u? and i like her name, too!), ? (for your lengthy and detailed review), and Kara Angelle (mucho mucho gracias!!)  
  
Well, darlings....enjoy "the rest of the story" teeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee*whew*heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee....HAH!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen: In Which All is Lost  
  
  
  
Mother was very excited after she climbed up my hair.   
  
"Rapunzel, dearest, I have a surprise for you!" she exclaimed.  
  
I told myself to stop shaking, as I was very nervous, yet glad that this would be the last time I would see Mother again.  
  
"Rapunzel, I have a new dress for you!" she went on, showing me a beautiful sky-blue dress.  
  
I immediately saw the waist, which was made to fall at my natural waist. I was absolutely terrified.  
  
"Go ahead, try it on!" Mother urged.  
  
Against my will, I went into my closet and tried it on. I hid my bulging waist as well as I could, but Mother instantly saw it.  
  
"Oh, you wicked child!" she screamed at me. "How dare you! I thought that I had protected and hidden you from the evils of the outside world, but you have betrayed me!"  
  
"No!" I wept.  
  
"After all I did for you, and you kept this from me the whole time!"  
  
"You don't understand!"  
  
"Yes I do! I understand perfectly well that you are an ungrateful-"  
  
"No!"  
  
"-selfish-"  
  
"It's not like that!"  
  
"-little brat who denies that she is my daughter!"  
  
"Please! Listen to me-"  
  
"Oh, I've listened to you enough!" Mother yelled. "But now you and whoever you have been hiding are going to listen to me!"  
  
I continued to weep, and she ordered, "Go out to your balcony and let your hair down."  
  
I ran blindly there, let my hair down, and she cut the extra hair down to my regular-length hair, keeping the extra.  
  
"Now, we will sit and wait for your prince." She knew that Tobin was a prince because she had forced it out of me after striking me a few times.  
  
We waited for a very long time, and then we finally heard the anticipated, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair."  
  
Mother threw me hard against the bed, and let down the hair she had cut off.  
  
Mother had underestimated my ability to quickly recover from her throw. I scrambled up, ran to the balcony, and screamed, "Tobin! Run! It's a trick! Mother's here--she's found out! Run before she can-"  
  
Here, I was grabbed by my remaining hair by Mother and pulled back. I heard Tobin galloping back, and I turned to look up at her from the floor and smiled a triumphant smile.  
  
"You may have saved your prince," she hissed at me, "But that just makes it worse for you!"  
  
"I don't care," I told her.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, you will...you will."  
  
  
  
ps~ HAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it's short, so don't bother telling me in your review...but this is the...SECOND TO THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!! Yes, it's almost finis!!!!! *tear, tear* SOOOO...review, and i'll update as soon as I can (the more reviews, the sooner i'll update!!!)  
  
Luv u all!!!  
  
~Jenny the chica~ 


	15. In which all is well and happily ever af...

Authoress's Note: I apologize here too for this being so long...i explained everything in "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", so if you wanna know, you can go there and read that...  
  
Anyhow, many thanks and kudos bars to: Baloo (yay! surprise!), Firebird (ooo...TWO reviews!!! yes, i WILL eventually update Rosemarie, when i have time to really sit down and work on it...not rush it, y'know? but eventually it'll be here...no i havn't read harry potter...yet (it's on my to-do list!) but that's cool!!!!), zumamoonlight (for accidentally reviewing twice..opps!!), hemlock (yeah...i didn't like the blinding thing...it grossed me out...specially since i had to dissect a sheep's eye last year in science!...and YES!!! even THIS is out before april (or arpil)!), Faeriegurl (i wanna know what u think of the other chapters!!! COME BACK!!!! hehe), and Blazing-moon (yeah...i like his name...sorry to leave ya hangin!!)  
  
And now, guys, the big announcement: this is the last chapter...yes...the time has come, the end is here...no more of this...happily ever after is almost here...enjoy and don't forget to review! Love you all!   
  
  
~Jenny the chica~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Fifteen: In Which All is Well and Happily Ever After...  
  
  
  
Mother didn't punish me as harshly as I feared she would, but she still punished me. She sent me down to the foot of the tower, leaving me to find my own way out. I thought that I would be able to find and follow the hoofprints of Tobin's horse to his castle, but Mother had made them disappear.   
  
I stumbled through the woods, wandering for days, until I finally found my way out. I walked on the road for weeks after that, trying to find Tobin, but I was too confused, ill, and weary to think straight, and I didn't even remember to write in to my fairy godmother in her book, which I had already put in my cape for my intended escape that evening. I stopped at a different inn or home each night, and most took pity on my weak form, as well as for the child that I was carrying. Only a few questioned me about my husband, and I told them that we had gotten seperated, and I was trying to find the place which we had agreed to meet. They would stop questioning me then, as I would burst into tears around that point, which was best, since no one would believe that a princess would be wandering around, dirty, lonely, and lost.   
  
Gradually, things began to look strangely familiar, and just as I thought I had almost figured it out, I saw the house I had grown up in: my fairy godmother's house. I was so glad to have the chance to see her again that I ran to the door, well, more of a waddling run, my hooded cape flying behind me.  
  
I pounded on the door, and it was opened by Eneé. I embraced her tightly, and she soon realized who I was. She called for my fairy godmother, and her sister, Enelle, whom I hugged as well.  
  
I heard footsteps, and I looked up the main staircase to see my fairy godmother. I will never forget the first words I said to her: "May I call you 'Mother' again?"  
  
She ran over and squeezed me tightly, like she had always done before. I wanted this moment to never end, just as I had before I left for the convent, but our reunion after a larger than four-year separation was interrupted when I jerked away suddenly.  
  
"What's wrong?" Mother asked.  
  
I winced as I felt the greatest pain I have ever felt in my life. I crumpled to the floor, but Enelle caught me just in time.  
  
I heard Mother yell, "She's going into labor, help me carry her to my bedroom!"  
  
I felt myself being carried up the stairs, and I was about to lose consciousness when another shooting pain hit me, leaving me wide-awake.  
  
A few hours after I was in Mother's bedroom, the pains finally stopped, and I turned to look at my baby. I was shocked when Eneé held up two babies, a boy and a girl. She quickly wrapped them in two blankets given to her by Enelle, and passed them to me.  
  
I held the screaming children up to Mother, who blessed them both with a fairy kiss, then handed them back to me. I named the girl Grace, after my first friend at the Convent of Carronsburgh, and I tearfully named the boy Tobin. After doing this, I fell into the deepest sleep I'd had since I was sent away from my tower, and I didn't wake up until late into the next day.  
  
After overcoming the exhaustion following the birth of Grace and little Tobin, I talked with Mother to plan how to go back to Tobin. We talked about it a lot, and we finally decided that I should go to court, escorted by Mother, and bringing Grace and little Tobin with us.  
  
We went as soon as I was strong enough, which was about three weeks after the twin's birth. The day we finally went, I felt like my throat was permanently in my throat, that my skin would forever stay covered in goose bumps, and that I would spend the rest of my life shivering.  
  
I tightened my clutch on my cloak with the pinky and ring finger of my almost-full hand. I couldn't help wondering if anyone would even know who I was. Tobin had never mentioned telling anyone about me, for who would believe the tale?   
  
Here we stepped out of Mother's carriage. A biting wind whipped through the already iced air, playing with my skirts. I re-covered the twins' faces, trying to comfort their squalling selves.  
  
I continued shivering as I walked the slowest I had ever walked in my life. Mother finally insisted on holding one of the twins, and I handed her little Tobin.  
  
We slowly entered the castle, the twins finally ending their constant wails, and I continued telling myself, "You are equal and above everyone here-the princess herself. There is nothing to be ashamed of."  
  
The fact that I was wearing a new, ornate dress that Mother had just made for me was helpful, as it boosted my shaky confidence.   
  
We turned slightly and entered the throne room. I tried to look down at the end of the long hallway for Tobin, but I was too far away to make anything out clearly.  
  
Mother and I continued to pace down the long hall, and my quickening heartbeat seemed to deafen even the joyous, yet thunderous, ruckus of the court's conversations.  
  
We were almost to the end. Tobin was nowhere to be seen. I caught my breath in a little, determined not to cry.  
  
We decided to wait a little, and blended into the crowd hovering next to the thrones. I distracted myself by entertaining Grace, now joyfully gurgling her first giggle, then dozing off.  
  
I looked up to see a door behind the thrones open, and a larger version of Tobin, whom I instantly realized was the king, stepped out. The crowd immediately fell silent, and I was glad that both Tobin and Grace were quiet and asleep. I looked up again, and I watched Tobin follow out.  
  
After memorizing all day what I would first say to him, I opened my mouth, and no sound whatsoever came out.  
  
Thankfully, my little Grace deemed that this was the best moment to wake up and set a record for screaming volume, so she did so. As I looked down into my arms to try to calm her, Tobin looked over.  
  
I saw him squint a little, then watched as his joyful smile spread across his face as he began to run towards me. I handed Grace to Mother, who was already holding little Tobin, and ran towards my husband.   
  
We met in the middle of the path leading up to the thrones, where we embraced and cried, both overjoyed beyond belief at the sight of the other. I felt myself almost pass out, but he supported me, and I just clung to him and cried. After many moments of this, Tobin turned to the king and queen and said, "Father, Mother, this is Gretchen--the maiden I was searching for."  
  
"And now she's found me," he whispered in my ear.  
  
His parents smiled and nodded, and Tobin led me over to them, where I embraced both.  
  
I then had to be introduced to the court, who were chattering about this sudden ruckus, but they all bowed, and welcomed their new princess.  
  
After the majority of this commotion had ceased, I led Tobin to where Mother was, still holding the twins.  
  
I took little Tobin from her and handed him to his father, introducing them, and took Grace, holding her. I turned and hugged Mother, and the tears we were both crying ended up on the other's face.  
  
I introduced Grace to her father as well, and he smiled, but I could tell that he was a little overwhelmed with becoming an instant father.  
  
Still smiling, Tobin bent down and kissed me, and the twins, along with the entire court, were suddenly silent. It was then that I truly knew that I had been welcomed.  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
  
  
After the surprise of my sudden arrival, Tobin told me of how he had run when he heard my warning, then come back the next day with a group from his army. They had brought a ladder, and attacked the tower, only to be greeted by an empty room, and neither the witch nor I were anywhere to be found. (Mother later told me that the witch had just mysteriously vanished, and no one had since seen her, so she was presumed dead, a huge relief to Tobin and me.)  
  
Tobin told me that he had been searching for me throughout these months, and his father was just telling him to "give up the search" when they entered the throne room, but, thankfully, I was there, waiting for him.   
  
I moved into the castle, of course, with Tobin and the children, and Mother stayed in her manor, although she visited her "grandchildren," Tobin, and me often. Mother was always treated like my real mother in court, and I continued to call her "Mother."  
  
When the twins were almost three, the king and queen "retired," since Tobin was twenty-four, the age when the prince officially became the king in our country, and Tobin became king.  
  
We lived very joyfully together as king and queen. The twins grew into wonderful children, as did their little brothers and sisters. Mother and I kept in close touch. We continued to write using the magic book, which Mother returned to me, since she traveled a lot now and lived in a neighboring country for most of the time. Nevertheless, my life had finally fallen into place, as I had always hoped and dreamed it would. In fact, though I hate to use the old cliché, we truly did live happily ever after.  
  
  
  
The End  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thank you everyone...my "loyal" fans...love you all!!! Keep reviewing!!!!  
  
~Jenny the chica~ 


	16. Original Story and Final Authoress's Not...

Original Story and Final Authoress's Note  
  
  
  
  
Rapunzel  
  
  
credited to the Grimm Brothers  
  
  
  
  
~Short Summary of them: "You may already know these stories (includes The Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Rapunzel (of course), and others). Or perhaps they will be new to you (such as The Shepherd Boy). I feel like I have always known about Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. These tales seem to have been a part of me, almost from birth. And that's true all over the world. The best-known stories, like "Cinderella," are found in Africa, China, and Japan, just as they are in Europe and America.  
  
"Two very learned brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, had a good idea many, many years ago. They traveled around the German countryside, going directly to the people for their folktales. One grandmother, a tailor's widow named Katherina Viehmann, knew scores of them, and the brothers took down the stories just as she told them.  
  
"They published their first collection in 1812. That seems a long time ago. But probably the stories began to be told many hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years before that. No one knows who thought of them first, et someone must have done so.  
  
"To me they seem like dreams poor people might have. The poor boy or girl always wins out, the treasure is found, the good food is eaten. But it isn't easy for poor people to get food and money and power by their own efforts. And so they need magic to help them -- magic clocks, magic sticks, magic birds, dwarfs, fairies. Fairy tales mix a lot of common sense with a lot of uncommon happenings. And they always end happily. That's the best part of it."  
  
And here is one of their stories, from which I wrote my version.  
  
  
  
  
Rapunzel  
  
  
  
(This version and the summary of fairy tales/the Grimm Brothers is quoted from "The World Treasury of Children's Literature, Book II," with stories selected and commentaried by Clifton Fadiman...sorry for all the legal stuff, guys...on with the original!)  
  
  
  
Once upon a time there lived a man and his wife, who had long wished for a child, but all in vain. And, it so happened that at the back of their house was a little window which overlooked a beautiful garden full of the finest vegetables and flowers. But there was a high wall round it, and no one ventured there, for it belonged to a witch of great power of whom all the world was afraid.  
  
One day when the wife was standing at the window, and looking into the garden, she saw a bed filled with the finest rampion (editor's note: Rampion is a kind of flower whose root can be used in salads); and it looked so fresh and green that she began to wish for some; and at length she longed for it greatly. This went on for days, and as she knew she could not get the rampion, she pined away, and grew pale and miserable. The man was uneasy, and he asked, "What is the matter, dear wife?"  
  
"Oh," answered she, "I shall die unless I can have some of that rampion to eat that grows in the garden at the back of our house."  
  
The man, who loved her very much, thought to himself, "Rather than lose my wife I will get the rampion, cost what it will."  
  
So in the twilight he climbed over the wall into the witch's garden, plucked hastily a handful of rampion, and brought it to his wife. She made a salad of it at once; and ate to her heart's content. She liked it so much, and it tasted so good, that the next day she longed for it thrice as much as she had before; if she was to have any rest the man must climb over the wall once more. So he went in the twilight again; and as he was climbing back, he saw the witch standing before him, and was terribly frightened, as she cried, with angry eyes, "How dare you climb over into my garden like a thief, and steal my rampion! It shall be the worse for you!"  
  
"Oh," answered he, "be merciful rather than just; I have only done it through necessity. My wife saw your rampion from our window, and became possessed with so great a longing for it that she would have died if she could not have some to eat."  
  
Then the witch said, "If it is all as you say you may have as much rampion as you like, on one condition -- the child that will come into the world must be given to me. It shall go well with the child, and I will care for it like a mother."  
  
In his distress the man promised everythin, and when the time came and the child was born the witch appeared, and gave the child the name of Rapunzel (which is the same as rampion). Then she took it away with her.  
  
Rapunzel grew to be the most beautiful child in the world. When she was twelve years old the witch shut her up in a tower in the midst of a wood. It had neither steps nor door, only one small window above.  
  
When the witch wished to be let in, she would stand below and cry, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down thy hair!"  
  
Rapunzel had beautiful long hair that shone like gold. When she heard the voice of the witch she would undo the fastening of the upper window, unbind the plaits of her hair, and let it fall down twenty ells below, and the witch would climb up by it.  
  
They had lived thus a few years when it happened that the King's son came riding through the wood. He came to the tower; and as he drew near he head a voice singing so sweetly that he stood still and listened. It was Rapunzel. In her loneliness she tried to pass away the time with sweet songs. The King's son wished to go in to her, and sought to find a door in the tower, but here was none. So he rode home, but the song had entered his heart, and every day he went into the wood and listened to it.  
  
Once, as he was standing there under a tree, he saw the witch come up, and he listened while she called out, "O Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down thy hair."  
  
Then he saw how Rapunzel let down her long tresses, and how the witch climbed up by them and went in to her, and he said to himself, "Since that is the ladder I will climb it, and seek my fortune." And the next day, as soon as it began to grow dusk, he went to the tower and cried, "O Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down they hair."  
  
And she let down her hair, and the King's son climbed up by it.  
  
Rapunzel was greatly terrified when she saw that a man had come in to her, for she had never seen one before. But the King's son began speaking so kindly to her, telling her how her singing had entered into his heart, so that he could have no peace until he had seen her himself, that Rapunzel forgot her terror. When he asked her to take him for her husband, she saw that he was young and beautiful, and she thought to herself, "I certainly like him much better than old mother Gothel."  
  
She put her hand into his hand, and said, "I would willingly go with thee, but I do not know how I shall get out. Each time thou comest, bring a silken rope, and I will make out a ladder. When it is quite ready I will use it to get down out of the tower, and thou shalt take my away on they horse." They agreed that he should come to her by evening, as he old woman only came in the daytime.  
  
Now the witch knew nothing of all this until one day when Rapunzel said to her unwittingly, "Mother Gothel, how is it that you climb up her so slowly, and the King's son is with my in a moment?"  
  
"O wicked child," cried the witch, "what is this I hear! I thought that I had hidden thee from all the world, and now thou hast betrayed me!"  
  
In her anger she seized Rapunzel by her beautiful hair, struck her several times with her left hand, and then grasping a pair of shears in her right -- snip, snap -- she cut, and the beautiful locks lay on the ground. The witch was so hardhearted that she took Rapunzel and put her in a waste and desert place, where the young girl lived in great woe and misery.  
  
On the evening of the same day on which she took Rapunzel away she went back to the tower and made fast the severed lock of hair to the window hasp.  
  
The King's son came and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down they hair."  
  
The witch let down the hair, and the King's son climbed up. But instead of his dearest Rapunzel he found the witch looking at him with her wicked glittering eyes.  
  
"Aha!" cried she, mocking him, "you came for your darling, but the sweet bird sits no longer in the nests. She sings no more. The cat has got her, and will scratch out your eyes as well! Rapunzel is lost to you; you will see her no more."  
  
The King's son was beside himself with grief, and in his agony he sprang from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns on which he fell put out his eyes. He wandered blindly through the wood, eating nothing but roots and berries, and doing nothing bit lamenting and weeping for the loss of his dearest wife.  
  
He wandered for several years in this misery until one day he came to the desert place where Rapunzel lived with her twin chldren. She had borne him a boy and a girl. At first he heard a voice that he thought he knew, and when he reached the place from which it seemed to some Rapunzel recognized him, and fell on his neck and wept. When her tears touched his eyes they became clear again, and he could see as well as ever.  
  
He took her and the children to his kingdom, where he was received with great joy, and there they lived long and happily.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Well there it is, guys...cept i got the idea that the witch found out about the prince cuz of the pregnancy in another version...the one with all the pretty pictures (i know that helps a lot, BUT...)  
  
personally, i like my version a lot better, but i'm a lil biased...i like a lil more true love and common sense in my stories (y'know, Rapunzel loves him just cuz he looks better the witch, and she asks him to bring a lil bit of rope each time for a ladder...couldn't he have just brought a big ladder? DUH!!! wow...plus there's some premarital relations goin on here...mmmmhmmm...yup yup...innocence destroyers!!! i'm tellin ya...and i never liked the thought of someone's eyes being put out...anybody seen minority report? then ya know what i'm talkin about...g-ROSS!!!!)  
  
  
anywho, this is my last and final authoress's note (for this story, at least!)  
  
i love this story...it was my first, and it started it all...one day, when i actually have time, i'll rewrite it so it's more on level with what i've learned to write now (i wrote this a year and a half ago, guys, in the middle of eighth grade...gimme a break!)  
  
welps, i'll reply to the reviews for the last time (sniffle!) and thanks, guys, for putting up with me!  
  
  
fufie ~ thanx...very sweet review!  
  
ThePenMage ~ thankies!  
  
Chien ~ lol...the novel is still quite far away...sorry all the chappies were so short...but my other stories are longer (hint, hint)  
  
Faeriegurl ~ thanx for comin back! you're awesome! update anniya NOW!!! =o)  
  
Cinnamon ~ I'm glad you loved my story!  
  
hemlock ~ i miss u! Where'd ya go? many thanks!  
  
FairySpirite ~ Wow...one for every chappie! i'm quite flattered! I think that you've found my other fairy tales...if not, it's "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "Rosemarie"  
  
chava ~ Wow...you're great...i WILL expand it...one day...uno dios...but yeah, Zel is awesome...that's actually the reason i took the thorns thing out of my story, because her explanation of how the tears healed the prince was so awesome that i would have had no choice but to plagiarize it!  
  
  
Well, that's all, folks! almost...i've updated "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (17 chappies now), and I'll try to update "Rosemarie" soon!  
  
Plus, i hope to work on expanding this and perhaps writing another retelling of Rapunzel, either one closer to the original or one set in present-day...hmmmm...oh, and i've started writing a retelling of Cinderella, but i won't post it until i'm done, because it eases a lot of the stress and totally prevents forced chapters (at least for the most part!)  
  
So please review this one last time, and i luv u all! (and it wouldn't hurt y'all to stop by to do a lil bit of readin and reviewin some other stuff by that author Jenny the chica...wink, wink, nudge, nudge...lol)  
  
Tootles!  
  
Peace and love in the meantime!  
  
~Jenny the chica~ 


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